August 15, 2005

FAB: The Coming Revolution on Your DesktopFrom Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication by Neil Gershenfeld, Basic Books, 270 Pages, $26.00 Hardcover, April 2005, ISBN 0465027458
When Bill Gates talks, many listen. On July 1 of this year, we posted a list of books that Bill told us we have to read. I was familiar with four of the five listed and agreed that they were important books. So I ordered a copy of number five. It is the subject of this review.
Bill is right. This is a book that is important because it talks about what the author thinks is the next trend in personal technology. He calls it personal fabrication (PF). As he states:

"At the intersection of physical science and computer science, programs can process atoms as well as bits, digitizing fabrication in the same way that communications and computation were earlier digitized. Ultimately, this means that a programmable personal fabricator will be able to make anything, including itself, by assembling atoms. It will be a self-reproducing machine"

The author goes on to state:

"The biggest implement to PF is not technical; it's already possible to effectively do it. And it's not training; the just-in-time peer-to-peer project based model works as well in the field as at MIT (where this was developed and where the author teaches). Rather, the biggest limitation is simple the lack of knowledge that this is even possible. Hence this book.
FAB tells the stories of pioneering personal fabrication users, and the tools they are using. Because both are so striking. I've interwoven their stories in pairs of chapters that explore emerging applications and the processes that make them possible. The not-so-hidden agenda is to describe not only who is doing what but also how, providing introductions to the tools that are similar to the orientations we give at MIT and in the field. These stop just short of hands-on training; a final section gives enough detail on the products, programs, and processes used to duplicate whats shown in the book."

The stories of applications are fun because they are all over the board--from India to Africa to Boston. This is a science book with huge business applications. Check it out and remember Bill knowsor for you Mac users, Steve knows.

Bill Gates held his annual CEO Summit last month.
We have a little inside scoop for you.
There were five books recommended to the attendees:
The Trendmaster's Guide: Get A Jump on What Your Customer Wants Next by Robyn Waters
Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W.

Silo, Politics, and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors
by Patrick Lencioni, Jossey-Bass, 224 pages, $22. 95 Hardcover, March 2006, ISBN 0787976385
I think Patrick Lencioni has the record for the most Jack Covert Selects (including Death by Meeting, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive). Why?

Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty by Pat Lencioni, Jossey-Bass, 220 pages, $24. 95, Hardcover, February 2010, ISBN 9780787976392
For over ten years, Pat Lencioni has helped define the genre of the business fable. He is most famous for The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which I thought so highly of that I included it in our collection of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.

I found this entry I started writing in February and thought it might still be relevant.
In the February issue, Harvard Business Review put together their 2006 Reading List.
The Elephant In The Room: Silence and Denial in Everyday Life by Eviatar Zerubavel (Oxford University Press, March)
Working With Your Is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself From Emotional Traps In Work by Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster (Warner Business Books, March)
Family Capitalism: Wendels, Haniels, Falcks, and the Continental European Model by Harold James (Harvard University Press, March)
Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass, March); a March Jack Covert Selects
The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy by AnnaLee Saxenian (Harvard University Press, April)
Questions of Character: Illuminating the Heart of Leadership Through Literature by Joseph Badaracco (Harvard Business School Press, April)
Guanxi (The Art of Relationships): Microsoft , China, and Bill Gates' Plan to Win the Road Ahead by Robert Buderi and Gregory Huang (Simon and Schuster, May)
Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Difference into Opportunities by Mark Gerzon (Harvard Business School Press, May)
The Managerial Moment of Truth: The Essential Step in Helping People Improve Performance by Bruce Bodaken and Robert Fritz (Free Press, May)
Treasure Hunt by Michael Silverstein and John Butman (Portfolio, May); a May Jack Covert Selects
Appreciative Intelligence: Seeing the Mighty Oak in the Acorn by Tojo Thatchenkery and Carol Metzker (Berrett-Koehler, May)
The G-Quotient: How Gay Men Are Changing the Face of Leadership by Kirk Snyder (Jossey-Bass, June)
Untapped: Creating Value in Underserved Markets by John Weiser et al.